Revenge Costs Interest [EN]: Chapter 52

Revenge Has Interest – Episode 52: Working Hard Without a Clue (52/200)

Episode 52: Working Hard Without a Clue

2023.09.21.

Mary approached, her face flushed, and began discussing the riding attire.

“The shoulder area is a bit tight, leaving no room.”

Mary pointed out the discomforts, and Leah diligently took notes.

“What else was there? Your Grace, what part of the boots did I say was uncomfortable earlier?”

“Oh, you mentioned that it would be nice to have some slight wrinkles around the ankle area.”

Terrence’s incredibly gentle voice irritated Leah.

“That’s right. Your Grace corrected my leg posture, so the demonstration went well, but it would be better if the ankle part of the boots were a bit more flexible.”

“Mary, didn’t you say it would be good to have a string in the waist area?”

“Oh my! How thoughtful. That’s right. The back of my waist lifted too much when going over obstacles.”

Leah meticulously wrote down their words, then looked at them directly and asked,

“Adding a string to the waist will ruin the shape of the garment. I’ll think of another way.”

‘String, my foot,’ she thought. ‘I deliberately made a jacket with a perfectly tailored shape, and she’s talking nonsense.’

Then, it suddenly occurred to her why Terrence was riding with Mary. Frankly, she didn’t care whether the clothes were comfortable or not. It was something else entirely.

“Terrence, why did you ride with her? Was there a problem with the clothes?”

Leah asked as professionally as possible, fearing that her uncomfortable feelings might show.

“Ah! Well, I wanted to teach Mary a little technique for going over obstacles.”

‘His meddling knows no bounds,’ Leah thought, her irritation growing.

‘Why not just be the coach for the equestrian competition? That would be a very pleasing sight,’ she mused sarcastically.

Not only is his first love, the Empress, here, but also Mary, who doesn’t seem shy at all despite just meeting him. He must be having a great time.

Leah chuckled humorlessly and wrote on the paper.

“Hey! How about the Duke be the coach for our equestrian team?”

Mary seemed to have the same thought, as she spoke in an excited tone. Leah almost broke her pen in frustration.

Leah’s gaze then turned to Terrence. What would he say? Her heart was pounding.

‘If you accept, I’m breaking off the engagement immediately,’ she thought fiercely.

Leah smiled brightly, but inwardly, she imagined all sorts of extreme scenarios. Not only breaking off the engagement but also pinching Terrence all over if she could.

“That won’t do. It’s a competition to showcase the equestrian skills of women, and if a man is the coach, it wouldn’t align with the original purpose of the competition.”

The Empress sternly scolded Mary.

‘She’s so cool,’ Leah thought, impressed.

She was a woman who never failed to meet her expectations.

“I will revise the riding attire as soon as possible.”

Leah replied politely to the Empress. Then, the Empress placed her hand on Leah’s shoulder.

“It’s very reassuring to have such a bright woman like Lady Vizak by my side.”

“You flatter me, Your Majesty.”

Leah smiled shyly, and the Empress said loudly, as if for Terrence to hear,

“If Lady Vizak weren’t engaged, I would introduce her to my younger brother, Vitello.”

Terrence’s face, which had been full of smiles, stiffened at the Empress’s words. Even as a joke, he clearly didn’t like hearing such things.

“Lady, if you two break up, let me know first.”

Leah laughed and replied to her joking words,

“I will. I would trust someone like Your Majesty’s brother.”

The Empress held Leah’s hand tightly, as if she had something else to say, and took her to a secluded place.

It was mostly about the equestrian competition, and Leah listened to her attentively. But Leah heard something strange from the Empress.

“I must win this competition. There’s someone I really want to show it to.”

“Your Majesty?”

“No, Empress Theresa.”

It was an unexpected remark. She thought the two were quite far apart in age and were rivals.

Besides, she knew that Empress Theresa only watched the competition and didn’t participate as a player.

“She was my hero. A beautiful, intelligent, and benevolent perfect Empress. For several years, the equestrian competition was won by Empress Theresa and her ladies-in-waiting.”

Leah understood the Empress. It was the desire to become like someone she admired.

“But Empress Theresa has changed. After suffering severely from smallpox, scars appeared on her face, and the wise and brilliant monarch became obsessed with power and an autocratic ruler. So, I want to show her through myself how progressive she used to be.”

The conclusion was to capture everyone’s attention with the perfect riding attire. That was all she could do for the Empress.

“I will do my best, Your Majesty.”

Leah felt an immense pressure for the first time. After all, the Empress’s words meant that even a small mistake would not be tolerated.

* * *

Terrence was bewildered by Leah’s bad mood. He had tried so hard all day to impress her. He had never taught horsemanship to his subordinates so diligently.

But she didn’t even speak to him properly until they arrived at the Duke’s residence.

‘Is she tired?’ he wondered.

Even if she was tired, shouldn’t she at least appreciate his efforts? He deserved at least three grape signatures [referring to a reward system or inside joke].

Leah got out of the carriage, and as she entered the lobby, she smiled at Terrence.

“Terrence, thank you for today. You must be tired, so get some rest.”

“Huh…? Is that all?”

Her reaction was quite different from what he had expected. No, Grace was smiling, but he felt a strange chill emanating from her.

Soon, Grace disappeared into the residence.

‘I must have overwhelmed Grace by trying too hard,’ he thought.

She should have been the main character, but he had shown off too much. That was the problem.

‘I should have taken it easy.’

Terrence shook his head. Still, she would feel better by tomorrow morning, so he should ask her to sign the grape.

Meanwhile, Leah returned to her bedroom and threw her handbag carelessly on the sofa.

“What’s wrong? Did something bad happen?”

Pauline and Chenelle rushed over, concerned.

Was the reaction to the newly made riding attire bad? She had gone out with a fluttery heart, but she was full of anger when she returned.

“Did the Empress not like it?”

“No, she was very satisfied.”

She didn’t even know why she was in a bad mood. It was a tangled mess of emotions.

Leah sat on the sofa with her arms crossed, replaying the day’s events. She chuckled in vain, then tore at her hair in frustration.

“Is it because of the old man [a playful term for Terrence]?”

As expected, Chenelle hit the nail on the head. Then, Pauline began to grill Grace.

She made such a fuss, demanding that she reveal everything that had happened, that Leah ended up telling the two of them all her feelings, which she didn’t even want to talk about.

“Am I being too sensitive?”

Leah was worried that Pauline would think she was narrow-minded, even as she spoke. After all, Terrence had only worked hard to help her.

“Well, it depends on whether there was intentionality or not.”

Pauline rested her chin on her hand and spoke in a serious tone.

“If the Duke deliberately tried to show off to you, then of course you have the right to be upset, but if not, then it’s a case of ignorance being a sin.”

“Ignorance is a sin?”

“It means he’s terribly clueless.”

Leah’s head became even more complicated at Pauline’s words. But Chenelle said something different from Pauline.

“Isn’t it the same that you’re upset?”

That was the answer. Whether it was intentional or not, Leah’s hurt feelings were not resolved.

Pauline thought about it carefully, and it seemed that Chenelle’s words were correct. Love is not easily explained rationally.

“Sister! Get revenge on the old man.”

“Revenge, how?”

Leah was intrigued. Even if it wasn’t a grand revenge, she wanted to get a little payback on Terrence.

“I heard the old men talking when I lived with Grandpa, men are originally… when they see a naked woman, a wet woman, a crying woman… !”

“Originally…? What are you trying to say?”

When Leah couldn’t understand, Pauline whispered in her ear.

“What on earth did Rapha teach the child? Chenelle, you must never use such words again.”

“Yes!”

‘A naked woman, a wet woman, a crying woman, is that how you get revenge?’ Leah wondered, horrified.

To inflate a man’s lust to the fullest and then coldly turn away is revenge.

Chenelle knew such vulgar methods. Leah shook her head violently.

‘That’s vulgar. I don’t get revenge like that,’ she thought.

Absolutely not.

* * *

Allen was discharged from the hospital and returned home. He wasn’t fully recovered yet, but he couldn’t leave the company vacant for long.

Now, only his leg was a bit uncomfortable, but his upper body had freedom of movement.

‘Terrence, that bastard, did it?’

He didn’t know how many times he had replayed the incident in the hospital. He almost died not from the fracture but from anger.

After Allen learned that Terrence had terrorized him, he only thought about how to repay him. Just then, his secretary entered the office.

“How did it go?”

Allen instructed him to contact the employee he had planted in Terrence’s mansion.

Terrence still wouldn’t have noticed. The fact that several of his employees were leaking information to the outside.

“Lady Vizak has recruited a Saint-Petersburg imperial tailor to make Empress Lubeck’s riding attire.”

“Riding attire?”

Ah! The Royal Equestrian Competition will be held in Velis soon. It was a competition where the empresses and ladies-in-waiting of each imperial family showed off their horsemanship. It was a fairly large event with a long tradition.

“Empress Theresa will also be attending.”

“What? Her Majesty?”

Allen’s eyes widened in surprise. Empress Theresa was famous for not attending external events, but she was going to watch the Royal Equestrian Competition?

“Get me a ticket. The best seat.”

“Yes.”

At that moment, Allen’s face lit up as if he had a very good idea.

“Contact the Duke’s residence. Tell them I’ll reward them handsomely if they do this well.”

“Please tell me, President.”

Allen didn’t say it but wrote the message on paper. Soon, the secretary’s face turned pale after seeing Allen’s written instructions.

“If we carry out such a big task, the spies will no longer be able to operate properly in the Duke’s residence.”

“You’re so naive, there’s nothing you can’t do with money. Spies are expendable anyway. Just throw them away and make new ones.”